Villa boss Martin O’Neill plans to speak to Fabio Capello this week in a bid to avoid his England stars suffering burn-out.

England coach Capello names his squad on Saturday for next Wednesday’s friendly with Spain and it could include as many as five Villa players – Gareth Barry, Emile Heskey, Ashley Young, Gabby Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies (James Milner was last night named in the under-21 squad).

But with Villa fourth in the league and still in the UEFA Cup and FA Cup, O’Neill is eager to protect his players.

“I am sure I can speak to Capello on the phone,” said O’Neill. “I have thought about it and I hope the England manager would be mindful the players have played a lot of games.

“If you build a decent relationship with club and country then that shouldn’t be a major problem – certainly for friendly games.

“I have not been in a position to ask before but if there were a number of our players picked then I hope he would look at it from a club viewpoint ahead of a friendly game.

“It is to do with a bit of trust as we have at this football club important assets to England whether they are in the team or the squad.

“I think he would be pretty amenable, I am sure.

“I accept the fact that he will maybe be using next week as an opportunity for final thoughts before the qualifiers.

“I am sure he knows at least nine of his starting XI for the crucial games coming up.”